In
1974, the Lions Club of Whyalla investigated the possibility of
forming a second Lions Club in the City of Whyalla.

Lion George Sloan, the clubs extension officer called a meeting
with this aim on the 21st of March 1974. This meeting was
successful with Lion Bill Marsh the Club President chairing the
meeting. After a great deal of discussion the name Whyalla Mount
Laura was accepted as the name for the new club.

An
election was held for the position of President with three
candidates for that office. The successful candidate was Lion
Frank Schultz, Lion John McKenzie was then elected to the office
of Secretary and Lion John Laube became Treasurer.

Both the sponsoring Club, Whyalla, and the new Club, Whyalla
Mount Laura, progressed from this point to arrange a larger
membership and the Charter Presentation night which was then
planned for the 22nd of June 1974 at the South Whyalla Football
Clubrooms. A membership of 31 was achieved by that date.

Under the Chairmanship of Lion Frank Schultz, the Club began to
establish itself as an active service Club. With guidance and
assistance from their sponsoring Club and particularly Lions
Davey Orr and Harry Noble the Club launched into community
projects.

A
road safety programme was launched with headlight testing of
cars, and in conjunction with the Whyalla Club, Glaucoma testing
was conducted. The Club supported the Multiple District
Christmas Cake project.

Cyclone Tracey saw Lions all over Australia involved in giving
assistance and Whyalla Mount Laura became involved in collection
of donations and aiding travellers as they passed through Port
Augusta. Many pensioners yards were cleaned and tidied. A
cabaret conducted by the Whyalla Players helped the Club raise
funds towards their community work.

At
the Changeover on June 25th 1975 the Club had 32 members and had
given 265 hours of community work.

Lion John Mckenzie assumed the position of President in the
second year, and led the young Club into a year that saw it
increase in membership and activities.

The Whyalla Players again gave the Club their charity payers
cabaret which raised $600.00 for the Speech and Hearing Centre
in Whyalla. A start was made on the repair of the diving jetty
on the Foreshore. 100 dozen Christmas cakes were ordered and
sold. It was decided that the Club should submit an entry into
the Christmas Pageant, so the first Batmobile ( an old station
wagon cut down and remodelled ) was created. The Club was
awarded a trophy for this float. A regional Ball was held in the
Whyalla Institute and Clubs from Eyre Peninsula were invited to
attend.

The year ended with a membership of 40 and the Club had
accomplished 846 hours of service.

Lion Alan Gloyn took on the role of President for the Club's
third year.

In
conjunction with the Whyalla Club under the Chairmanship of Lion
Bob Rowell the Club's raised $10.907.00 to purchase an EmCare
Ambulance for the local St.John Ambulance Brigade. A large
number of projects, both combined and individual Club efforts
saw the required amount raised in the year and the ambulance
handed over to St.John. During the year Lion Gordon Prosser and
Lion John Bradbury decided the Club should purchase a deep fryer
as a fund raiser. One was available and Lion Gordon paid a
$50.00 deposit on the machine which had a price of $400.00. The
Club was not easily convinced that this was a good investment
but ratified the action of the two Lions, this was the birth of
our Chip Van.

The jetty commenced in the previous year was completed and
dedicated to the late Max Colgan, who had passed away during the
year. Copper House Court was cleaned up ( the yard ) and this
was a continuing project for some time. The Ladies Auxiliary was
formed in August and has been active in assisting the Club.

Despite reaching a membership of 47 during the year, it ended
with 41 having completed 2691 hours of service.

Lion Gordon Prosser led the Club into it's fourth year and
despite a very busy year with the Miss Personality Quest which
the Club had entered for the first time, visits were made to all
Clubs in our Zone.

The Club hosted a Youth Exchange student from Japan. A beach
cleanup was conducted early in the year, then work at Copper
House Court and smaller jobs for pensioners etc. A attempt to
start a new Club at Iron Knob / Iron Baron was Unsuccessful. The
Christmas party at Nonowie Station proved to be a great success,
as was the caravan family weekend at Melrose.

The Ladies Auxiliary organised many events, including the
provision of supper for the Whyalla Players Cabaret to assist
the Miss Personality entrant, Belinda Higgins. Total raised for
our entrant was $10.080.00 of which $8.650.00 was donated to the
Quest and $1.430.00 to the Whyalla Sheltered Workshop.

At
the Changeover which for the first time was combined with the
Whyalla Club, our membership stood at 42, and the year had seen
2500 hours of community service given.

Lion Jim Worby assumed the office for 1978-1979, and the Club
sponsored Police Action lectures at the Whyalla High School.

A
joint stall was held at the Whyalla Show which saw the Chip
Machine in it's first large action, raising $400.00. The Club
assisted with the Whyalla games, manning the gates and supplying
a stall. Once again we manned the Speedway gates, entered a
float in the Christmas Pageant and conducted a Glaucoma and
Hypertension screening. Our entrant in the Miss Personality
Quest was Miss Anne Perry and we raised $5438.00 for this
project. The purchased a garage which was transported to the
Service Clubs block in Cook Street. McRitchie Kindergarten
requested help and the Club erected a fence to help keep young
children from roaming onto the road.

Despite a large turnover of members, the Club finished the year
with 41 members, having completed 1872 hours of service.

Ivan Yeend's year as President saw 45 projects completed and in
excess of $13.600.00 being raised.

The main project for the year was the replacement of the R.D.N.S.
car. The changeover cost was $3.000.00 and this was achieved
with the help of the Ladies Auxiliary. The Club sponsored two
young girls in a ride - a - thon to Port Lincoln which saw a
donation of $1.000.00 to the Whyalla Speech and Hearing Centre.
The Clubs Chip Machine was also active, with 450 hours being
spent to raise $3.237.00. Christmas cakes were again purchased,
with over 50 dozen all sold.

The Ladies Auxiliary presented a Croupette Machine to the
children's ward of the Whyalla Hospital. In conjunction with
Copper House Court the Club again had the opportunity to receive
funds from the Whyalla Players Cabaret and $1.170.00 went to
Copper House Court.

Several smaller projects were successfully completed, including
support for an Anti-Cancer lecturer, toys being repaired for
Child Care Centre and manning the doors for the St.John's Ball.

The Lions year 1980 - 1981 saw Lion Alan Chirgwin leading the
Club. and in this year it was decided that the Chip Machine
should be housed in a caravan.

With a membership of 33, there were at times 33 methods of
laying out the equipment in the van. After many hours of
planning and debating our first Chip Van was a reality. No more
carting our portable shed and the deep fryer by trailer, we were
now mobile.

Other projects were the cleaning up of the Road Safety centre,
repairing toys, conducting a Glaucoma - Hypertension Screening,
cooking the Bar-B-Q and Hot Chips at the Hospital Fete, repairs
to a pensioner hot water service, manning the Speedway gates and
cutting lawns and clearing yards for the elderly.

Lion Alan Gloyn was appointed Zone Chairman.

Despite many losses in members, our membership was 33 at the end
of this Lions Year.

Lion Ron King took over as President in what would be the year
of the "STEEL CITY CONVENTION"

The Club hosted a successful Convention for our District.
Approximately 500 Lions from our District attended, and all
members were involved in the preparation and presentation of a
successful project.

The Chip van again was a major fundraising project with quite a
few schools receiving donations. Speedway gates, Lion Mints and
Christmas cakes also added to our funds. Our Miss Personality
entrant Miss Jenny Callaghan worked tirelessly and was the
highest country entrant in fundraising.

Mowing of lawns and garden maintenance for the elderly were
again to the fore. Toy repairs for the Child Minding Centre,
painting Mount Laura Homestead, the decorations at Westland,
making support chairs, painting Ladies Shed and a bottle
collection were some of our other projects.

John McKeough described his year as successful even in the face
of "The present economic climate and employment situation".

Members worked in excess of 1500 hours on various projects
throughout the year. Some of these included renovating a caravan
to be used by the Lions Ladies, dismantling and transporting the
old kitchen block from Point Lowly Lions Camp to the Cook Street
block, manning drink stalls for the Whyalla Fun Run and the bar
for Jaycees Conference, constructing a Pageant Float and working
at the Hospital Fete.

Lions Ladies raised over $1.200.00 during the year and this was
donated to Yeltana Copper House Court and AIM for Independence.

Membership suffered during the year, due to many transfers and
various other reasons.

Our tenth Anniversary year saw the Club still very busy under
the Presidency of Lion Dennis Hand. With a membership of 28 the
Club remained very active and planned to celebrate our 10th
Anniversary on the 19th may 1984. This proved to be a successful
night, with nine of our Charter members attending.

The Club began the first "Journey for Sight" in Australia with a
ride by local cyclist from Ceduna to Whyalla. As District
Chairman for Sight, Alan Gloyn organised the Club to carry out
this project which raised $3.000.00 for this first attempt.

A
Glaucoma screening was again conducted, assistance was given by
Cooinda Kindergarten. Speedway Gates were again manned, Lion
Mints continued to raise funds, as did Christmas Cakes and our
Hotel Raffle under Barry Spry.

Lion Keith Bishop handled the Christmas Cakes and Lion Mints for
Lion Dik Karssen in his year as President, netting $1.540.00 for
the Club.

A
"Hungi" conducted at Nonowie was well attended as well as being
a social event it raised $803.00. A picnic was arranged for the
Senior Citizens with a Bar-B-Q and picnic at Nonowie. Many
pensioners saw sheep shearing for the first time.

Official visits were made to Whyalla, Kimba and Woomera.

Journey for Sight was again conducted and increased in size this
year having riders come from Port Lincoln - Ceduna - Leigh Creek
and Woomera, this again proved to be a success raising
$16.577.00 for the Lions Save Sight Foundation. An unsuccessful
attempt was made to twin with the Lions Club of Texas City Noon.

We
lost 7 members and gained 6, leaving a total of 26 members.
Hours worked 1457, Funds raised $25.134.00

Lion Ross Sims in his report stated "Ups and Downs" but the Ups
far outweighed the Downs.

We
conducted a Bike registration and registered 700 bikes. The
first Wheel barrow race from Iron Knob to Whyalla was conducted.

The Club formed and Chartered a Leo Club of Whyalla Mount Laura.

Our entrant in Youth of the Year, Dianne, was a good
ambassadress for Whyalla and went on to reach the State Youth of
the Year Final. The Chip Van raised money again and $3.584.00
was donated to local schools from this project, Operation NOAH
was again supported and proved successful. The Food and Wine
Fair netted $390.00 from the unusual task of picking up the
rubbish (empty cans) this paid for a decoder for deaf students.
The hiring of our Bar-B-Q by Lion Gordon Prosser raised $252.00.

The Ladies Auxiliary continued to assist the Club and acting as
waitresses at the St. John luncheon, allowed the St. John
workers to enjoy their luncheon undisturbed. Their lamingtons at
the Whyalla Show proved to be a success ( pity they sold 1100
prior to the event and had to make more )

Journey for Sight was again conducted with great success, the
total raised for save Sight over a three year period, being
$40.000.00

President Barry Hocking had this year start in a truly
International way, with the arrival of our Exchange student
Chrys Williams, Arkansas. U.S.A.

Barry spoke on behalf of the Club's nomination of Alan Gloyn for
District Governor, and the bid for this office proved to be
successful.

This year we did many of the things we have done each year, the
Speedway gates, the Decorations at Westlands. Our Wheelbarrow
Race saw us now owning 12 wheelbarrows, thanks to generous
donations from the businesses of Whyalla.

We
spent much time and money on the Special School, Long Street
Playground, Triathlon, Copper House Court gardens and Auction,
Whyalla Kindergartens through Fantasia, our local Food and Wine
Fair by manning stalls and collecting rubbish, Army and Air
cadets and the Local Boys Club.

We
improved our bicycle registration certificate and undertook a
new programme " IDENTIKID " 276 children were processed in this
project.

Membership is still a problem with only 27 members at the close
of the year.

Lion Ron King accepted the office of President for the second
time and led the Club through a busy year despite the pressures
of his own business.

The successful Wheelbarrow Race raised $1.100.00 which was
donated to D.P.I., towards the cost of a new car for that
organisation. Time was also spent at Copper House Court and the
sarlon over the Pergola area replaced.

The Club initiated the First Neighbourhood Watch programme in
the Whyalla Stuart area, a great deal of the ground work having
been done by Lion Barry Hocking. Our usual fundraisers were
continued and this year saw the addition of manning the Bar at
the Football on Memorial Oval.

Our replacement Van for the Chip machine was completed in time
for the Whyalla Show and had the addition of a Doughnut Machine
which proved to be popular and profitable.

On
the social side we once again won the Bowls trophy against the
Whyalla Club.

With a low membership of 23, Lion Geoff Fuller began a year
which proved to be busy, but without a great deal of success in
attracting new members.

Despite the low numbers the Club amassed 3003 hours and raised
$31.143.00, during his year as President.

The year commenced with the Ring of Fire Bi-Centennial event
then onto a project "Operation Expo" initiated by Lion Bill
Moran in which the Club undertook to send children to see the
"Expo" in Queensland. This proved to be a very rewarding project
and the children were entertained at a Lions meeting on their
return.

The Club supported the appeal to bring a speaker from Southern
Cross Homes to speak at a meeting attended by Rotarians, Knights
of the Southern Cross, Apex and other community organisations.

The Club assisted with the Pioneer Day at Ada Ryan gardens. The
visit of the Police band saw the Club involved in the clean up
of the old single mens quarters to house the band. Another
Neighbourhood Watch programme was launched.

This our fifteenth year of Lionism was busy and most rewarding
under the Presidency of Lion Bryan Carpenter. The Club has been
active and the membership has grown to 30.

In
the month of July, a new Neighbourhood Watch was launched,
planning for the Fauna Park Pergola commenced and a Drug
Awareness public meeting was convened.

Pergola project continued, Christmas cakes were ordered and
assistance given at the Hockey fete, also 40 chairs purchased
and painted. The Chip van was very active raising large amounts
for local schools.

The Fauna park pergola completed and handed over to the City,
total costs were $55.762.00 and 430 hours of service. The Club
decided to resurrect the Batmobile for the Christmas Pageant and
it proved once again to be a popular float. The Club was again
involved in the Australia Day Celebrations, letter boxes for the
aged people living in Menard Street were erected for the S.A.H.T..
also $500.00 was donated to the Newcastle Earthquake Appeal. The
Club financed a trip to Wadlata for residents of Copper House
Court.

The Chip Van attended the Jazz at Red Rock and whilst the coffee
sold by Lions Lady Agnes proved as popular as our doughnuts, we
managed to donate $1.000.00 to Yeltana from this project.